Defense sources speaking with Israel Hayom said that contrary to multiple reports of a deal being close, Mohammad Sinwar, brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, is doing what he can to sabotage and backtrack on negotiations for a hostage deal.
According to the sources, Sinwar has repeatedly refused to hand over a list of living hostages to be released in the initial "humanitarian" phase, which is a precondition for negotiations to continue and at least a partial deal to be concluded.
Sinwar has also reportedly backtracked on previous commitments. While Hamas reportedly gave up on demanding that a hostage deal lead to the end of the war, they are now insisting that the deal contain a pathway to an end to the war.
The other sticking point with Sinwar is the debate regarding the number of terrorists to be freed for each hostage and whether the most serious of these will be exiled to a third country or returned to Gaza or Judea and Samaria.
The sources did say that there is agreement regarding freeing hostages who meet the basic humanitarian criteria, the provision of aid to the Gaza Strip, and the placement of IDF soldiers during the first phase of the deal.
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